Bye
by BeatriceL
Summary: Added scene to 5x22. With the help of Bonnie, Damon says goodbye to Stefan. Previously called: Au revoir ou à jamais.


Au revoir ou à jamais

Damon walked out of the crypt leaving the love of his life behind. His face was completely serious as he felt the wind picking up on the other side. The vampire knew he had little time left here, whatever will become of him in the near moments, there was one last thing to do before he could face both hell and heaven.

Bonnie watched Damon make his way slowly around the forest away from her. She wished she could say that the vampire had maintained his cocky exterior till the end; an exterior that she only now realized had been able to hold their gang together, because in reality she couldn't recall a moment where grief was ever more evident in them, and they had hurt and grieved a lot in the past few years.

As an anchor, the witch also felt that their time was running up, strangely, Bonnie realized that it was close to dawn and a feeling in her bones suggested that with the first break of the sunlight, they wouldn't be here anymore. She felt at peace with her faith, or at least she tried to convince herself of that. As she saw to where the dark haired vampire was headed to, with a sight, Bonnie followed behind the vampire, she owed to help him make his peace.

Damon continued to walk through the forest with a serious expression, silently walking through the bushes and the forest pathway until he stood next to a stone-bench where his brother and the baby vamp where currently silently crying their eyes out.

The crystal blue eyed man exhaled slowly, feeling completely awful at the sight of his brother, realizing that he won't be able to help him now. Bonnie slowly approached him as silently as a ghost. Without his trading smirk nor a mischievous glint in his eyes, Damon turned his head to look at the former witch and back to the couple grieving in front of them.

''You know Bennet, I made a promise to our mother ages ago.'' Damon suddenly spoke up after the watch their friends in silence.

''What was it?'' Bonnie asked after a moment as she looked at the older Salvatore without any hate.

''To protect my little brother.'' The blue eyed vampire answered looking openly at Stefan with concern.

He scoffened suddenly as he let out a humorous chuckle. ''Wow, I failed. I had let Katherine tear us apart. I've let her turn him. I didn't help him when he became a ripper, I just cut him off. All I did was ensure that he didn't get himself killed… that's too little for an older brother. I did die for him so may be I'll earned few good points with the higher power… This hole 'seeing your hole life in an instance' thing is a bitch.''

Bonnie stayed silent for a moment, she felt so sorry for him. He was far from saint, but even the badass vampire had goodness in his heart, a quality that he tried to hide yet it was very clear how fiercely protective and loyal he was to the ones he cared about, even if they had hurt him.

The former witch followed his gaze to Stefan and Caroline holding each other. Her best friend facing her own grief for Stefan but also for Damon.

Caroline sobbed as she buried her face on Stefan's shoulder. Her best friend was Gone. Bonnie was gone with her wise words and protective soul. And Damon too, the idea of never again seeing the sarcastic smirk was… crushing.

''We both know he wouldn't be like this if all you had done over the years was to fail him.'' Bonnie replied. ''He loves you like a brother only can, you do know that?''

''Hard to not-notice.'' The blue eyed vampire returned with an unreadable gaze. ''And though my plan 'kaboom' didn't include you judgy, I still have a favor to ask.''

Bonnie nodded after a minute of thought. ''Let it be payback for the year your previous plan which managed to bring me back. I never thanked you for it.''

Damon smiled a little. ''Good to remember that there things I wouldn't change if I could.''

Bonnie smiled back softly, a silent truce established between the two as they managed to let go of the grudges against each other.

''There are still a million other people I would rather be at this moment but…'' The caramel skinned witch trailed of not being able to find the right words but not really needing to because Damon understood completely.

''A couple thousand at most.'' He replied with his usual cocky humor. It made both of them feel lighter to know they would face the unknown completely alone.

''What do you want my help with?'' Bonnie asked after they shared a small and soft moment of understanding.

''My death wish, oh genie, is to say goodbyes with my brother.'' Damon answered back to being completely serious as he knelled down to be on his brother's eye level. ''He needs this much more than I do.''

Bonnie nodded in comprehension as she forced herself to, one last time, be more connected with the land of living so that her friends could see her. When she felt back on earth, she still could hear as well as see Damon, yet her surroundings weren't the dark and shadowy pieces of the other side but a peaceful forest. Bonnie cleared out her throat and immediately both vampires looked up at her.

''Bonnie?'' Caroline asked while her blond curls fell around wildly and her mascara slide with the tears that she cried, for her own grieve, for Jeremy's, for Elena's, for Stefan's. ''How much longer-''

''Not a lot.'' Her best brined answered already knowing the question and the blond vampire looked about the cry another ocean out. Bonnie just smiled sadly. ''I love you Care. You were like a sister to me over the years. You'll always be.''

The former witch then turned to Stefan who remained silent as his eyes were full of agony. ''Damon is here.''

Stefan look of misery transformed into hope before it died almost as soon as it came, guilt was the new emotion governing the younger Salvatore's face.

''I'm sorry brother.'' Stefan whispered into space. ''You should be here. You finally had all you ever wanted… I'm sorry.''

''Don't you dare take it on yourself Stef, it was my choice, accept that you thick-sculpted-saint.'' Damon replied softly despite the words, with affection as he laid a transparent hand on his brother's shoulder. Stefan immediately stiffened as he too felt the connection yet when he looked at his arm there was nothing in front of him.

''He doesn't want you to blame yourself.'' Bonnie rephrased.

Damon watched with sorrow how his brother's expression broke. Stefan stiffened another sob and blinked painfully before replying. His expression transferred the overwhelming emotion of defeat as his eyes spoke for themselves: 'I can't, I don't know how.'

The blue eyed vampire looked intensely at the younger brother with a tense jaw. ''Jugdy, tell him that I don't and will never regret saving his life even at the price of mine. Tell him that he is wrong, it is now that I truly have everything I ever wanted because they are all finally safe and these matters more to me then anything else in this world. Tell him that what I told him in 1862, should I have not come back from the war, still stands the same. Tell him that I'm thankful for the time that he forced on me, and I apologies for all the misery I caused him since. Tell him that this second chance was the best thing he could have offered to me. Tell him that he always have been and will be my little brother and I could have never hated him, no matter how much I tried to. Tell him that he can't refuse a dead man final wish, and mine is for him to never give up on his humanity. And please stop paraphrasing me Bonnie.''

''Okay.'' The witch nodded as she repeated those words. Stefan looked down somewhere in the middle and closed his eyes as he felt the pressure on his arm increase by a fraction. Both Stefan and Caroline listen intently to the witch's- Damon's- words. Tears fell over Stefan's eyes as he listened through Bonnie to his brother.

''I'll try.'' Stefan vowed starting to feel hollow knowing this was most likely the last time he spoke to his brother in any form. The younger Salvatore knew that but didn't want to believe it and promised himself to look through every corner of the earth for answers. After all there must be something, there's always another way…

''Caroline will help you.'' Damon replied softly, almost confidently as he looked over to the blond vampire. He hadn't been oblivious to the cooking romance story almost ready to be set on the table.

The others of course couldn't hear him safe for the caramel skinned witch. ''Bonnie, tell Caroline that she never deserved what I did to her when she was human, but I'm glad she ended up sticking around the group as a Barbie vamp. She is stronger than she realizes.''

Caroline was surprised to hear the words directed at her but she smiled sadly at the space she assumed Damon was in. ''You were- are- an ass. But underneath, you had those redeeming qualities after all. I can't believe that I'm saying this, after all the times I told you to jump off the cliff, but I wish you'd be here Damon.''

''Hmm, now you're telling me.'' Whispered with some humor under his breath. The older vampire took away the supporting hand from his brother and ruffled energetically the younger Salvatore's hair messing them up completely. Stefan automatically pulled to the side with a glare but he smiled wistfully at the gesture.

''I'm not going to give up on you brother.'' The younger Salvatore declared into space.

Damon rolled his eyes at that though Stefan couldn't see. ''First take care of yourself.''

Bonnie looked as Damon retreated from the bench to give a one final look at the two people in front of him. Bonnie silently walked up to him, as her concentration flattered; she disappeared from the land of living.

''One decent speech I heard from you.'' The witch nodded as she looked at him.

''If you stuck around for the epic moment I shared with Elena, you'll count two.'' Damon replied.

Suddenly Bonnie heard her name being called in the distance; she turned around to see Jeremy running in their direction. Her eyes watered in joy as she saw her loved one ran around the forest at a slightly higher then normal speed in her search. She wanted to just one more time tell him how much she loved him, how much she cherished their every moment together…

''There seems to never be enough time, even if it would be eternity.'' Bonnie state as she saw Jeremy ran past her. If even he who could see ghost wasn't able to see her anymore, there was nothing they could do now.

''You're learning fast Bon-Bon. You'd be better at living some more then I.'' Damon replied as he too looked at the scene in front when their friends gathered in panic realizing their Damon and Bonnie were gone.

''Hopefully something got through that stubborn scull of my brother.'' Damon stated.

''I'm sure something did.'' Bonne assured melancholically. ''I never thought to live the day when you of all people would loose hope.''

Damon raised his eyebrows at the mockingly. ''You didn't.''

''Touché'' Bonnie replied with a faint smile before her expression turned more serious. ''They still have each other.''

''I know.'' The blue eyed vampire replied. ''And I didn't lose hope, that's just a posh word novelist like to use, it's acceptance, if you can't do want you want then do what you can… I just wished I was with them, but that's it, an empty wish.''

The ground beneath their feat shock as the earth felt about to fall apart. A white light emerged in the distance and started to increase in volume by the second. Hard wind flew around in circles and unlogical paths as if the world itself didn't know what to expect and do.

The two people, vampire and former witch, took each others hands silently as they shared one last look, no words were needed to covey their last goodbyes because words were for the living.

''Do you think it will hurt?'' Bonnie finally asked as the bright light seemed to travel with conviction in their direction.

''I don't-

Silence. The group of friends and frenemies listened with further breaking hearts. But there was only the soft wind in the distance.

&T&M&T

**Hello!**

**Did you like it? I thought that since the entire 'kaboom' plan started to save Stefan, plus the emotional scenes between the brothers in the previous episodes, it was really a shame they didn't do a goodbye between the two. Though I guess it was either that or Delena moment, and that was very well done.**

**My guess is Damon is going to come back as a human with no memories, because how ironic would that be? Plus, he would probably be even good in it.**

**Review**

**See ya!**

**I just would like to encourage you to check out my other story called **_**The Master of Time**_


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